Camera IconPony Express O owner Wendy Naude is disappointed red tape is preventing her from turning her coffee shop into an intimate bar in West Perth.Picture: Nic Ellis

A West Perth coffee shop owner who wants to convert her cafe into an intimate bar at night has had her small bar license knocked back — because of the toilets.

In a decision described by Perth MP John Carey as “another example of red tape gone mad”, Wendy Naude has been refused permission to sell alcohol because her cafe shares toilets with a hairdresser.

The toilets are in a common area in a heritage-listed building on Mayfair Street, which houses the hairdresser and Ms Naude’s cafe Pony Express O.

After a two-year battle, Ms Naude has been told by the Director of Liquor Licensing and the Liquor Commission that the venue is not appropriate for a 50-person bar because it does not have its own toilet.

Mr Carey said he found it extraordinary that small bars were popping up around the world but were being rejected in Perth.

“It is not proposed to be a rave venue or a boisterous tavern, it’s a 50-seat small bar and the primary reason it was rejected was based on a toilet,” he said.

Ms Naude gave the commission a petition signed by 122 existing customers as well as about 30 letters of support from people and businesses in the area.

She said she had hoped the bar would help with the area’s struggling nightlife and encourage people to stay in West Perth.

“All we are looking for is after work-drinks in an environment which is cosy and unique,” Ms Naude said.